The Secrets Of Life
by LibbyLumos
Summary: Hermione's life is turned completely upside down by a letter that reveals that she is not actually who she thinks she is. Now Hermione's got to learn to adapt to her new life... and her new love.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys, sorry about the screw up with Chapter One :/ It's been completely changed and edited and what not, so yeah XD I hope this one's going to be a lot better. **

**I'm co-writing this story with britbeing18: /u/2736227/ :) She came to me with this idea, so we're turning it into a bit story XD **

**Anyway, this is the prologue - Chapter One is still being edited :D**

**Prologue**

H

Hermione Granger was finally happy; the war was over, Harry had won, Voldemort was dead, and all of the Golden Trio had survived.

She had mourned the loss of those that were close to her and those that she'd seen as another family, but she'd eventually learnt to accept it; a lot of people had died, and as much as she'd loved them like her own flesh and blood, she had to move on – they would want her to.

So she tried as hard as she could. With Harry's help, she travelled to Australiaand returned her parents' memories. They'd been angry with her, of course – she'd just _stolen_ their _memoirs_ – and her father broke down in tears, stating that if she had died he would never have known she'd even existed, which was something Hermione hadn't thought about. He also cried because he couldn't have protected her like he was 'supposed' to. It had surprised Hermione; her father never cried. He was the stone paper weight in the family compared to her and her mother. She was the book, and her mother was the binding, but her father was the stone.

Eventually they'd calmed down and both moved back to Englandto be with their only daughter. They kept their home in Australiafor future holidays and trips, but they left _that_ life behind and picked up their old one, which Hermione had restored and put on hold for them.

Hogwarts was in the process of being rebuilt and Hermione had been helping as much as she could, clearing away the rubble the Muggle way alongside the captured Death Eaters who were serving part of their hard labour and community service trying to help fix what they'd torn apart, and giving them new blueprints for better classrooms and rooms for House Unity hang outs. Dumbledore would have been proud of her, but she couldn't think on that too hard – it hurt her almost as much as the thoughts of Dumbledore had hurt Harry. She'd had quite a pleasant relationship with the older wizard, and he was her Wizarding father figure. To think about Dumbledore was like thinking about her own father dead; it hurt way too much.

She'd already been invited back to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year, and of course, being the person she was, she'd agreed, only to be offered the role of Head Girl, which she had also agreed to. She'd also managed to persuade Harry and a rather reluctant Ron, the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, into joining her as well.

Harry and Ron had been to see her a few times since the war ended, but they were reluctant to leave their homes because of the paparazzi, and so the three of them hardly ever went out in public. Harry was reluctant to _ever_ leaveGrimmauld Place, and Ron was still in mourning over Fred. Hermione didn't blame him; Fred had always been one of her favourite people to talk to.

And so Hermione spent most of her time with her Mum and Dad, or reading. It was a good life for her – calm, yet bursting with new knowledge and new opportunities. She was looking forward to walking back into that school, not having to feel the weight of the world on her shoulders. She knew Harry felt the same way – he'd had to bare so much from the first day – and that was why he was going back. He wanted to feel the experience of Hogwarts fully as a Seventh Year, and as a boy who finally had the chance to have at least a year of his childhood given back to him. From that comment, she knew that she was going to struggle to keep him in line this year – he'd been owling George a lot recently and that concerned her.

She was living her life to the max as much as she could in this new found chapter, but through all of the doors she had closed and all of the windows she had opened, she didn't realize how soon it would be until the next chapter began.

**I hope that was alright XD It was just the introduction and an attempt to give you the detail behind what had happened so far, and I hope that's what it did :/**

**REVIEW AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT :D**

**Auralee & Britanny xx**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. **

**I'm co-writing this story with britbeing18: /u/2736227/ :) She came to me with this idea, so we're turning it into a bit story XD **

**Anyway, here's Chapter One! I hope it's better than the last chapter one XD **

**Chapter One – Secrets**

Hermione's life was turned upside down by a letter – a measly piece of parchment, brought in by an owl that interrupted dinner in the Granger's household.

Hermione had wondered about the look that passed between her two parents as they'd picked it up. She'd internally questioned the fear they displayed on their faces.

Her mother had sent her up to her room, and Hermione was reluctant to leave, but the look on her mother's face had told her not to argue.

She couldn't figure out who the letter was from or what it was about – it wasn't a Hogwarts owl, it wasn't an owl that belonged to _any _of the Weasley's and it wasn't Harry's new owl Athena. The only people that would have any reason to write to her parents would be someone from Hogwarts, but it didn't have the school's seal either.

Hermione waited for her parents to call her down, as she knew they would. In the meantime, she read another book, the most recent book she'd found in the Black's Family Library; _The Purest of Pureblood_. The book hadn't really held much interest to her, but it was one of the few she hadn't read yet, and she couldn't go to Diagon Alley unless she wanted to be bombarded with paparazzi.

So she sucked it up, and read the book. Every Pureblood family was mentioned – The Potters, The Longbottoms, The Malfoys, The Blacks and so many others that she'd never even heard of.

She spent about an hour reading, trying not to think about what her parents were talking about – what was in that letter. It didn't work well, but her irritation was lifted slightly when she heard her mother call her.

"Hermione?" Hermione lifted her head from the pages, eyes wide. "Hermione, please come into the living room, we need to talk!"

Hermione snapped the book shut and threw it onto her pillow. Slowly, she pulled herself up off of the bed, grabbing a jumper on the way out; she was getting rather cold.

Her Mum and Dad were sitting together on the loveseat, red eyed with tears still eminent on their faces.

"Mum? Dad? Are you okay?"

She feared the worst. Had someone died? Had someone been hurt?

Was _he _back?

Hermione cast the last thought from her mind; he was long gone. All of his horcruxes had been destroyed, and his followers had been captured with minimal resistance; they'd lost all hope that he'd ever return.

Her father waved a hand towards the arm chair across from the loveseat and she sat down awkwardly on the edge.

There was a long, stretched out silence before her father started talking.

"The letter we received was from a couple we met a long time age, named Eric and Lisa Livenstein.

"We met them whilst your mother was in labour, in hospital." Her father took in a deep, shaky breath. "Lisa was also in labour, in the bed next to your mother. She was a witch from a very powerful family, and from what she told us, Voldywart—"

"Voldemort." Hermione interrupted automatically. He glanced up at her and smiled slightly before continuing.

"_Voldemort_ was after her first born daughter."

Hermione nodded. She knew the Livenstein family were incredibly powerful. She was surprised they hadn't been recruited by Death Eaters, but no Livenstein was captured by Aurors, or named by another Death Eater.

Hermione knew, though, that they wouldn't follow him; she'd read their section in _The Purest of Pureblood_ and knew they liked anyone with real, raw power – no matter what their blood consisted of – and to them, even with a man as powerful as Voldemort, they wouldn't follow him if he willingly murdered those with great potential.

But she let her father continue his story. He was hesitant, and her mother had started crying again, but she stayed silent.

"Lisa was in a MuggleHospitalso that her child's name would not be registered in the Wizarding World where… _Voldemort _would find it.

"But she still had the issue of hiding her child where he couldn't find her."

Hermione's eyes widened.

She thought she was catching on, but she hoped to Godric that she was wrong. She squeezed her eyes shut, hiding the tears as her father admitted what she believed.

"Your mother—my beautiful Janette—gave birth to a still born son."

A sob ripped through Hermione's chest. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't.

She was Muggleborn! She'd been picked on for it her whole life in the Wizarding World! She'd fought against a man who tried to kill her because of it!

But her own _parents_, or the people she'd thought were her parents, were telling her otherwise.

Her fathers' heart was slowly disintegrating as he watched the girl he'd raised as his own sob into her hands. He wanted to keep her with him always, curled up in his arms like she had when she was a baby, but the time had come, and he had to let her go. He'd lied to her, and Hermione was not the kind of girl who would take something so lightly. "She had to; otherwise, he'd have taken her daughter from her. She never told us what for, just that she'd been in terrible danger."

Janette carried on the story, having pulled herself together as much as she could. Her husband was breaking with each word he said, and it hurt her to watch that happen.

It hurt her to see it happen to Hermione too – the girl she considered her own – and watch her slowly lose trust in everything she'd known.

"When she realized I'd had a stillborn, she gave us the option – take you, raise you as our own, protect you as much as was possible. We agreed. She needed someone; she looked so sick, so ill as soon when she'd seen that she'd given birth to a daughter. We agreed and she modified the nurses memories into thinking she'd had the stillborn son and I'd had you." Her mother whispered the words, but to Hermione, they screamed, shook and smashed everything in her world. With those words, Hermione's life changed completely as she broke down, running from the lounge and back to her bedroom.

She spent a few hours sobbing, hugging the small bear she'd had for as long as she could remember. She exhausted herself so much that she fell into a deep sleep, surrounded by the mystery faces of her real parents.

**Well... we hope you like it :D**

**REVIEW AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT :D**

**Auralee & Britanny xx**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – Livenstein**

Hermione was slowly packing her things into the suitcases the Granger's had given her. There were seven in total and so far, all but one had been packed to the brim, and she hadn't even started on her bookshelf yet.

She cast an enlargement spell on the last one and sighed heavily to herself, dragging it over to the shelves that covered one of her bedroom walls.

Hermione was exhausted – she'd spent a long time crying after her parents had told her about her real heritage. She'd lived a lie her whole life.

She understood why they did it, really she did, but that didn't stop it from hurting.

Her eyes flickered back to the letter lying on her bed. She'd received it the day after she'd gotten the news from her parents – Janette and Neil– and had been owling the Livenstein's every week to learn more about her heritage. They'd even told her to read a section of the book she was already reading: _The Purest of Pureblood._

The information she'd found had been rather interesting to her. Picking up the book, she opened it to the dog-eared page, marked: Livenstein.

She recited the words aloud, teaching herself, once again, of her heritage and the power behind the name.

~.~

"_**The Purest of Purebloods."**_

"_**Family Name – **Livenstein."_

"_**Origin – **1023."_

"_**Known For – **They are the strongest family in terms of Magic. All Livenstein children are powerful and are major assets for those in Wars. They are usually fast to pick up on spells, especially Defensive and Offensive spells. They harvest a lot of power and magic in their blood and are well known for being the main family to use wandless magic effortlessly."_

"_**Pureblood Views - **The Livenstein Family are often of close company with Muggles and Muggleborns, and are not known to be against them, unlike some of the most famous Pureblood families. However, the Livenstein family prefer to talk to those that hold some sort of power – those with great magic, or are strong in one subject at least [Powerful Magic / Strong Skills in Physical Power etc]. The Power of a name means nothing to them."_

"_**Inheritance and Marriage - **The Livenstein family prefers to marry within magic blood, but do not have an issue with impure relationships between family. The offspring always marries a powerful witch/wizard in order to keep their strength. There are a variety of tasks that must be completed before a witch or wizard is allowed to marry a member of their family, which makes it practically impossible for them to marry a Muggle. However, although incredibly rare, a few members have married non-magic folk. Inheritance will be down the line until as long as the witch/wizard in question has married someone of great power."_

_~.~_

Sighing, Hermione placed the book in the bag and continued to pack, thinking through what had been happening over the past few weeks.

She'd memorized the first letter her parents had sent. It seemed unreal to her. It felt like she was going to wake up any moment, or someone was going to jump out from the corner and tell her it was all a joke, April Fools by Fred and George.

But it wasn't; she could see it in her parent's eyes every time they looked at her – they didn't want to let her go.

Hesitantly, she picked up the first letter and read through it again. The ink was smudged and words blended into one another from where her tears had fallen on the parchment, but she knew every word.

_Dear Hermione,_

_My name is Lisa, and I am also writing on behalf of my husband, Eric, and we are your real parents. _

_I've been informed by Janette that she and Neil told you the truth?_

_As much as we hate to say it right now, after reading how you reacted to the news, it is the truth. You are our eldest daughter. _

_You have a younger sister and a younger brother, but your brother is the only one of the three of you who has stayed with us since birth; yours and your sister's roles in the war were too important for us to keep you near, and Voldemort wanted you; he wanted our first born daughter to marry one of his followers and produce an offspring to carry on his side and we could not allow that._

_We wanted to keep you, Hermione, but it wasn't safe to do so. As we're sure you've heard, or read – the newspapers are constantly mentioning that you are the brightest witch of your age and that you helped bring down the Dark Lord. We are so proud of you, Hermione – the Livenstein name is an incredibly powerful one in our world, known for the strongest witches and wizards born, which is why Voldemort wanted you to marry his right hand follower._

_We sent you to live with Janette and Neil Granger as we knew they'd be able to keep you safe and were not personally going to be involved in the war in any way. _

_We hope to hear back from you soon, and we're sorry that we couldn't have told you from the beginning, or that we couldn't have kept you with us._

_We love you, and we're so, so proud of you. _

_Lisa & Eric Livenstein_

_[Mum & Dad]_

She dropped the letter into the enlarged suitcase with the others and started to pack her books on top of them. She'd been doing so for at least half an hour before her mother—Janette appeared.

"Need any help?" she asked quietly from the doorway. Hermione froze and glanced up at her.

They hadn't really spoken much recently. Hermione had cooked her own meals and taken them to her room, rarely coming out of it for any other reason. Janette and Neil—Mum and Dad, she didn't know what to call them anymore—left her to think. They knew she needed the time to herself, so they gave her that.

It was heartbreaking, the motions they were going through, but they had to suffer in order for them to be happy again.

"Sure," Hermione smiled softly. Janette started to help her put the books into the suitcase, being careful to do it in the exact order Hermione directed.

They worked in silence for about an hour before Hermione admitted the one thing she'd been desperate to say for the last week.

"I'm glad you raised me."

Janette froze, bent over with three heavy books, ready to go in the bag. She slowly put them in their place before she stepped around the suitcase and pulled the young witch into her arms.

The two cried silently in each other's shoulders. They were parting ways tonight, and they were both unsure as to whether they would see each other again any time soon.

Hermione had made up her mind that she would come back to see them. She didn't care if her new parents didn't want her to, she would anyway.

They pulled away after a few minutes, dried their tears, and packed the rest of the books into the bag, idly chatting about anything and everything they could think of. Janette escorted Hermione and all her bags down the stairs and into the living room, in front of the fireplace where a small House Elf stood, nervously playing with the bottom of her dirty suitcase dress. Hermione winced at the sight and promised herself to make clothing for elves one of the first things apparent to her 'parents'.

"Miss!" the elf squeaked when she walked in, "Miss! Twinkle was sent by the Miss's Mother! Twinkle is to take your things!"

Hermione hesitantly nodded and smiled at the elf as she disapparated away with the bags she brought in. She kissed her parents one last time and promised them she'd return to see them soon, before she stepped into the fireplace, took the Floo Powder she'd been sent in the return Owl, and called out 'Livenstein Manor!'

~.~

Molly Weasley was in the kitchen cooking when all of a sudden, a sleek black owl tapped on the window.

Molly sighed as she called to her husband Arthur "Honey! It's time!" she sniffed quietly.

Arthur came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, "Everything would be ok, Molly. I just hope she won't be mad at us."

"We only did what was best for her… and them." She whispered, handing Arthur the unopened letter. They sat down at the kitchen table to read the letter.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley,_

_I'm not sure if Dumbledore told you about us, but my name is Lisa Livenstein and I am writing this letter on behalf of my husband, Eric, and I. _

_17 years ago, my husband and I visited Hogwarts, begging the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to take our precious, second daughter Ginerva and hide her in a loving family, away from the grasps of Voldemort and his followers. _

_He wanted her older sister so that could force her to marry his right hand man, and we couldn't allow that. We sent our eldest daughter away to live with a Muggle family, hoping to protect our children._

_When we had Ginerva, we knew we had to do something similar to keep her safe to, and I'm pretty sure you can understand why, and I'm sure you could Imagine how hard it was to hand over Ginerva and her older sister. _

_Dumbledore agreed to help us and took her into hiding, owling us a few months later to tell me he had placed her with the Weasley family, and that you had agreed to raise her as your own._

_Anyway, the purpose of this letter is to alert you that my husband and I are asking for Ginerva to return to her family and try to enjoy life as a family in a whole and so that she can meet her younger brother and older sister. _

_We're sorry if it seems like we are stealing her from you, and she will always be a part of your family as she has grown with you all, but we are desperate to meet our two daughters; we are sure they are beautiful, intelligent and exactly how we imagined them._

_I know this may take a while for you to explain to her and make a decision as to whether you will agree to let us meet her, but please know that we never stop loving her or our other daughter and all we want is to finally have a family._

_Please respond as soon as possible,  
>Mr. And Mrs. Livenstein<em>

As they folded the letter back up, they wondered how to tell Ginny. Arthur looked at his wife and stroked his thumb across her cheek, "We'll talk to her after dinner, without the boys there."

"Okay." She whispered, leaning up to kiss him before calling the kids in for dinner.

~.~

All through dinner, Ginny noticed that her parents were looking at her funny. She narrowed her eyes at her mother as she caught her staring again.

"How's the shop going, Fred?" Ginny asked, trying to disperse the torturous silence that surrounded the table. It was unusual for dinner to be so quiet, but with her parents' silence, no one was speaking.

"Great !" he replied, smiling at the opportunity, "Thanks for asking!" He speared a sausage onto his fork and took a giant bite, "Are you going back to Hogwarts in September?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "I can't wait!" She grinned happily.

"Me neither," Harry smirked, placing a hand on her thigh under the table.

The mindless chatter continued for a while longer before Molly interrupted.

"Ginny, honey, your father and I need to talk to you after dinner." She said, quietly. The whole table froze. Molly's voice sounded distant.

"Okay Mum," Ginny replied, nervously. She ducked her head and stared down at her food, her stomach twisting as she wondered what was going on, and if it was bad news.

Silence fell over the table once more, everyone contemplating the same thing as Ginny aside from the two eldest, who were trying to plan how the conversation was going to carry out.

The boys were sent up to their room as soon as dinner was finished, leaving Molly, Arthur and Ginny to tidy away the table. They did so, silently, placing the dirty plates beside the sink for the enchanted cloths to clean.

Ginny leant against the counter and stared at the floor, waiting for her parents to speak.

"Ginbear…" her mother started, "What your father and I have to tell you is very important."

Ginny glanced up, wide-eyed, "Okay, Mum, Dad, what going on? You're starting to scare me now!"

Molly bit her lip and glanced at Arthur. Her eyes were wide and a little wet.

"What your mother trying to say," Arthur took over, "Is we love you, little Ginbear." He froze and looked at Molly. She nodded to him, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Seventeen years ago, you were brought to our home by your headmaster, Albus Dumbledore-"

"Brought to… What?" She shrieked, "What do you mean 'brought to'? You're not my real parents or something?"

"Oh, honey, of course we're your parents… just not…. Not by blood, per say." Arthur stuttered.

"Who are my real parents?" she screamed. Tears were filling her eyes, and she didn't care who heard; she could already hear the footsteps of some of the boys running down the stairs to try and listen in to what she was screaming about.

Arthur picked up his wand and cast a silencing charm over the room before pulling the scrap of paper from his back pocket, "Here. This is the letter we received today from your biological parents. Their names are Lisa and Eric Livenstein ."

Ginny stared, dumbfounded at the letter her 'father' was holding out to her. She took it from his hands gingerly and read through it, rechecking every single sentence to make sure it was embedded into her brain.

"We love you so much Ginbear, please, we only did what we thought was best for y—"

"By lying to me for my whole life?" She screamed, crumpling the letter and throwing it at Arthur. She couldn't believe it. Her whole life was a lie. Everything she believed in, a lie.

"I hate you." She spat, running from the room.

The two stood, unmoving, watching the door. Their hearts broke at those three words; they loved Ginny like their own, and to be told that with such anger and hatred tore them in two.

"I feel so horrible, Arthur!" Molly sobbed into Arthur's shoulder, clutching to him for dear life.

"I know, Mollywobbles," said Arthur, "I feel the same."

"How could they lie to me?" Ginny thought as she lay on her back on the small attic bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She stayed there for what seemed like hours, waiting for sleep, or for the bed to swallow her up whole, whichever came first.

Someone knocked on the door heavily, and she heard a whispered, "Ginny?"

"Go away." she answered, sniffing and pulling down the sleeve of her jumper, over her hand, wiping her eyes.

"Gin, it's me, Harry," the voice whispered, "Please, open the door – Mr. And Mrs. Weasley told me what happened." Ginny slowly stood up and pulled open the door, staring at the raven haired boy that stood before her.

"Oh, well why don't you just come on in anyway? Take the whole bloody room," she spat, angrily, "My _real_ parents want me to live with them. I already owled them and told them I would. I can't stay here with a bunch of liars!"

"You're not going!" Harry stated, "The Burrow is your home, Gin, not the Livenstein's Manor." He reached out to take hold of her hand, but she flinched, stepping backwards.

"You, Potter, are an asshole! _They_ are my _parents!" _She growled, pointed a painted red nail at the boy, "I want to meet my older sister and my younger brother as well, my _blood _family." She spat the words at him as if he were disgusting.

Harry flinched back from her glare and looked down at his feet, anger bubbling up in his chest.

"You need to see reason here, Love." He said, quietly, keeping his head down so she wouldn't see how infuriated he was, "How would the Weasley's feel if you just left them behind?"

"I will always be happy that I had them as my family whilst I grew, Harry, but I need to see my real parents."

"You are being a bitch, Ginny! They love you!"

"Get out now, Harry Potter." said a deadpan Ginny, "And don't you even dare." When Harry didn't move, she pulled out her wand and growled, "Leave. Now."

~.~

The next morning, Ginny stepped carefully down the spiral stairs towards the Floo. She was finally going to meet her parents and her real family.

"Are you sure Ginny?" Fred and Molly asked quietly, both pulling her in for a bear hug.

"Yes," she whispered when she pulled away, "I am. I just need to meet my family." She paused and looked up at them, smiling, "But you guys will always be my first family."

"So you're trading us in for a rich family, Ginny? Are you too good for us now?" growled Ron

Molly swiped him round the head with the latest copy of the Daily Prophet and Ginny sighed heavily, "It's not like that, Ron."

"Miss Mistress sent Periwinkle to take the new Miss's things to Miss's new home!" A cheery little elf in a pillowcase grinned. Ginny smiled to herself, imagining what Hermione would think. She'd probably be making plans to change the Livenstein's behaviour towards the creatures, "Periwinkle is happy for Miss. Periwinkle will take your things now!" the little elf took Ginny's bags from her and grinned up, "Mistress is waiting for Miss, now." With a loud pop, the house-elf was gone.

"I will always love you, Mum," Ginny whispered, pulling Molly and Fred into another hug, kissing their cheeks.  
>Grabbing a hand full of Floo powder, Ginny called out "Livenstein Manor!" grinning at her old family.<p>

When she imagined walking into her new life, she had never thought she'd see her best friend standing in the doorway.

"You put your wand away, Hermione." Ginny smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, Gin." She said, sliding it into its casket, "What are you doing here?"

"Meeting my real parents, apparently," she drawled.

"Holy cricket!" Hermione squealed, "You're my younger sister!"

Before Ginny could answer, three people walk into the room, a man, a tween-ager and a woman.

"Hello, girls!" said the woman, "Welcome home!"

~.~

**Well... we hope you like it :D**

**REVIEW AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT :D**

**Auralee & Britanny xx**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! We're baaaaack! **

**Sorry it took so long to get up here... it's been hectic :)**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for all of the reviews :) We hope you like this chapter too :D **

**Chapter Three – The Family**

Hermione and Ginny stared wide eyed at the three people that stood in front of them. The woman was an average height and rather slender in Hermione's opinion. Her hair was shoulder length and a similar chestnut brown to Hermione's that framed her heart shaped face, but her eyes were a deep blue-y green.

The man, however, was tall, a lot taller than the woman and incredibly muscular, a Quidditch player's body. His hair was cut short and a deep black, similar to Harry's. His eyes were grey with specks of blue around the rim.

The boy looked more like his father than his mother. He was taller than the mother and his eyes were a similar almond shape to his father's, but more of a dark grey colour. His hair was long for a boy and black with red highlights. He was slender, like the mother, but also seemed to have a subtle build up of muscle.

Hermione was the first out of her and Ginny to step forward. "Mrs. Livenstein?" She asked, looking at the woman.

She nodded and smiled, "Please, call me Lisa," she replied, stepping forwards to embrace Hermione, "Or Mum if you wish, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

Hermione embraced her back slowly, carefully folding her arms around her mother's waist and laying her head on the other woman's neck.

They untangled from each other a moment later and Hermione waved Ginny forwards.

"Ginny?" Lisa said, pulling her into a hug, "My, you really do look like a Weasley."  
>Ginny was silent, just nodding as they embraced one another.<p>

Hermione turned towards the two men and smiled, holding a hand out, "Hello," she said, "My name's Hermione."

The taller man just watched her for a moment before he pulled her hand towards him and embraced her.

She laughed slightly and hugged him back, "Hey... Dad." She smiled.

She felt wetness in her hair and pulled away, looking up into her father's eyes. They were glassy, brimming with tears and there was a slight tell tale trail on his cheek from the tear that had rolled onto her hair.

Ginny was embracing the shorter boy. He was whispering in her ear and she was giggling.

The two girls swapped, Ginny hugging their father and Hermione standing in front of the other boy.

"Hermione," she said, "Although I'm sure you've heard."

He smiled down at her, "Mark," he pulled her into a hug, as had her mother and father, "You can call me 'brother's though." He grinned at her happily, "You are not with that Weasley boy anymore are you?"

"You..." She bit her lip, "He's just a friend... How did you know about him anyway?"  
>"Everyone knows about your friendship with Potter and Weasley, even if they weren't at your school." His smirk looked like it could rival with a Malfoy's, "And everyone's been expecting the Gryffindor Princess to get with the Weasley King."<br>"Wait," Hermione started, "You go to Hogwarts too? How have I not seen you around?"

He laughed, "I'll be in my fourth year when we go back." He paused, "You are going back too, right?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Are you kidding me?" She scoffed, "Insufferable Know-It-All right here!" She pointed at her chest.

He nodded, "Snape reference?"

She bit her lip, nodding, "I was never one of his favourites, but he was a great man."  
>Harry had told her what had been in the memories, mostly, and from those, she knew Snape was one of those 'suffer in silence' hero types that were never appreciated for who they were.<p>

But she knew he'd have hated the glory he was receiving after everyone had jumped to the conclusion of where his loyalties lied, but she had to respect him. So many things pointed to his loyalty for Dumbledore after the evidence had been given, him saving the three of them from Lupin in Third Year, the doe Patronus that had helped them many times in the war.

But she couldn't dwell on it anymore; he was dead, killed by Nagini in the war.  
>Mark nodded and signalled a hand towards the doorway. Hermione smiled and walked through into a large dining room.<p>

The tables were a beautiful, polished mahogany, laid with a delicate, pure white table cloth. There were eight chairs, but only five places lay out, all close together.  
>The same elf that had picked her up this morning was standing beside the table, staring up at her with wide eyes.<p>

"Please take a seat here, Miss," she stuttered, pulling out the second chair on the left side. Hermione thanked the elf, who gasped and stood with her mouth open, before taking a seat carefully in the chair. Ginny followed the elf's next instructions to sit opposite Hermione and smiled at her across the table. Their father sat at the head of the table, her mother sat beside Ginny and Mark on Hermione's left.

A flurry of house elves appeared, bringing giant plates of food.

Hermione bit her lip and tucked her head down at the pillow cases they wore. Ginny kicked her under the table and shook her head slightly, eyes wide.

Hermione understood and ducked back down, nibbling on her bottom lip as everyone served themselves dinner.

"So," Ginny said, "Is there anything we should know about... Well... The Livenstein family? I mean, I have no doubt Hermione has done thorough research," Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled slightly to herself, "But I didn't have much time and... Well... I'm more of a Get-Down-And-Dirty on the Quidditch pitch kind of girl compared to Hermione's Need-To-Know-Everything perspective, no offence," Hermione shrugged. She agreed.

"Well, there's not much about the Livenstein's that you _need_ to know. However," their mother paused and looked over at their father, "Your real names are... Slightly different than what you know. Hermione, your birth name for us is Anastasia Hermione and Ginny, yours is Apollonia Ginny. But you don't need to go by those names if you don't want to." She quickly amended.

Hermione nodded; she liked her name and everyone else knew her by it. Personally, she didn't think of herself as an Anastasia, nor Ginny as an Apollonia.

To be honest, she didn't see herself as a Pureblood either. Ginny, she could understand; she'd been raised as a Pureblood her whole life, never had to deal with the 'Muggleborn' issues. She fit in with those of 'higher' ranks of Witches and Wizards in the Ministry and the Pureblood Associations. The fact that she had been a Weasley, now Livenstein, didn't make as much of a difference for her as it did for Hermione, who had been so badly picked on for her Muggle family that she'd been a prime target in the war, more than Ron but less than Harry had been.

Her eyes widened a fraction as she looked up at Ginny. Harry! They had been together last she knew, but things change rather quickly nowadays, with all the rebuilding from the destruction of the war.

She opened her mouth to speak, but froze. What if something _had _happened? Last she knew Harry was staying in the Burrow over the summer, so he'd have been present when Ginny left. How did he take it?

She didn't think it was the right time to ask, so she pushed it to the back of her mind to discuss later.

Hermione stayed silent through the rest of dinner, only speaking when spoken to. She focused her mind on what would lie ahead for her. She was the oldest of the three children and so she would be the one to gain the inheritance.

In most of the Pureblood families she had read about, or met – for instance, the Malfoy's and the Parkinson's – the oldest child was expected to marry as early as possible to secure their place and their right to the inheritance. Some wizarding families even set up arranged marriages for their children. Hermione just hoped that wouldn't be the case for her; she wanted to marry whom _she _wanted, _when _she wanted.

Hopefully her parents would accept that.

**Aaand there you go :) Let us know what you think ;D **

**Auralee and Brittany xx **


End file.
